Slightly edited version of the privilege speech of Sen. Cynthia A. Villar on agro-ecology that was delivered on October 22.
WORLD experts on agriculture and food have been highlighting agro-ecology in various venues or platforms. It has been a topic of various symposiums, seminars, researches, publications and speeches. These experts see agro-ecology as an idea whose time for adoption or implementation worldwide has come.
On September 18 and 19 the International Symposium on Ecology for Food Security and Nutrition was facilitated by the United Nations’s (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and held at its headquarters in Rome. The discussions during the symposium focused on the numerous economic, environmental and social aspects that agro-ecology encompasses. You see, agro-ecological concepts and practices contribute to the three main goals of the FAO: 1) the eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; 2) the elimination of poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and 3) the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air and climate, for the benefit of present and future generations.
These are goals that we all here share, as well, which, the FAO believes, will be attained with the help of agro-ecology. So, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, I would like to present my own points and ideas about agro-ecology, so that we can all weigh its benefits and promote its adoption or active implementation here in our country.
Benefits offered
SO what is agro-ecology? Agro-ecology uses ecological concepts and principles to design and manage sustainable agro-ecosystems, offering benefits for productivity; food security; environmental sustainability; and important ecosystem services, such as climate-change mitigation.
What can agro-ecology offer? First and foremost, agro-ecology has a number of environment-related benefits, since it aims for environmental sustainability. If only for those benefits, agro-ecology is, indeed, a very timely alternative to conventional farming, taking into consideration that the country now experiences extreme weather disturbances, such as stronger typhoons, droughts, the El Niño and La Niña phenomena, and other environmental risks. Thus, we need different approaches, such as agro-ecology.
According to FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva, a “paradigm shift” in agriculture is needed. He said the main challenges facing world farming is to reduce the use of agricultural inputs, especially water and chemicals, and to make food production viable in the long term. He also cited agro-ecology as having the potential to reframe farming in a more sustainable way. Sustainability is the key.
This is seconded by Prof. Hilal Elver, the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food, who said recent scientific studies are increasingly proving how agro-ecology offers far more environmentally sustainable methods that can still meet the rapidly growing demand for food. Based on estimates, there is a need to increase food production by over 60 percent to meet the expected demand from a global population of more than 9 billion by 2050.
Ensuring food security is another thing that deserves great consideration. Only small farmers and agro-ecology can feed the world, something that the UN itself acknowledged. According to the FAO, 70 percent of the food we consume comes from small farmers. Based on official statistics, there are an estimated 1.5 billion people involved in family farming in over 500 million small farms worldwide.
Ang seguridad ng pagkain ng ating bansa, at ng buong mundo, ay nakasalalay sa mga maliliit na magsasaka. This assertion is highlighted by the fact that 2014 has been designated by the UN as the International Year of Family Farming. Family farmers are a crucial part of our efforts to attain sustainable food security. As such, we need to develop and implement specific policies, programs and strategies for them.
In the process of sustainably increasing production, addressing climate change and building resilience, agro-ecology is providing benefits to small-scale and family farmers, in particular.
Actually, to some extent, small-scale and family farmers have been practicing agro-ecology without them knowing about the science behind it. But now, with the increased interest in and attention given to agro-ecology, people have become more aware of it, and thousands more are involved in it. Many are even partnering with scientists.
Agro-ecology is also seen to slow the trend toward increasing urbanization, which is placing stress on public services in urban areas, where an increasing concentration of people is observed (like here in Metro Manila). Kaya lumalala ang traffic dito ay dahil lalong lumalaki ang populasyon sa mga urban areas or cities. Pag nagkaroon ng development sa rural areas, baka hindi na magsiksikan ang mga tao sa mga urban areas or cities. Agro-ecology would contribute to rural development, and the higher incomes it would generate in rural areas would help grow the other sectors of the economy in the countryside.
Support from scientists
SCIENTISTS also support agro-ecology. It is, after all, an interdisciplinary science that derives insights from ecologists and agronomists, as well as social scientists.
In a move seen as proof of its support, about 70 scientists and scholars of sustainable agriculture and food systems sent an open letter to the FAO, praising it for convening the agro-ecology symposium. Mindful of the intensifying challenges posed by continued food insecurity, rural poverty, climate change, drought and water scarcity, the scientists called on the international community to make a solid commitment to agro-ecology.
They also called for the launch of a UN system-wide initiative on agro-ecology as the central strategy in addressing climate change. The initiative, they said, could form one of the pillars for the future work of the Committee on World Food Security.
Most experts believe that agro-ecology is best suited for small-scale and family farmers. As I said earlier, they have been practicing it even before they knew about it. There is a need to provide adequate incentives and technical assistance to support small-scale farmers, as well as micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises, in creating local agro-ecological business models that can make appropriate inputs and technologies available to communities.
Agro-ecology will also have an effect on solving malnutrition, which is still prevalent in our country. The status of micronutrient malnutrition in our country is a cause for concern. To quote a FAO report: “Iron-deficiency disorder or anemia is the most alarming of the micronutrient deficiencies affecting a considerable proportion of infants [56.6 percent], pregnant women [50.7 percent], lactating women [45.7 percent] and older [men] [49.1 percent].” Also, “the vitamin A status of the country is considered [a] severe subclinical deficiency.”
Moreover, incidence of underweight, wasting and stunting, which was previously prevalent among Filipino children, has now become prevalent among Filipino adolescents and adults, as well. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), about 4 million—or 31.8 percent—of preschool-age children were found to be underweight for their age; and 3 million (19.8 percent) adolescents and 5 million (13.2 percent) adults, including older persons, were found to be underweight and chronically energy-deficient.
At the other end of the scale, obesity, which is closely linked to malnutrition, has also become increasingly prevalent among Filipinos. Needless to say, underweight, stunting and obesity are the root causes of diseases, increasing health risks and reducing life expectancy. Potentially fatal conditions associated with obesity include Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, several cancers and gall-bladder disease. Also, the FAO said the cumulative cost of all noncommunicable diseases—for which obesity is a leading risk factor—were estimated to be about $1.4 trillion in 2010.
Its toll on the economy is just as alarming: The FAO pegged the economic costs of malnutrition due to lost productivity and direct health-care costs at $3.5 trillion per year globally.
Although hunger statistics are still rising worldwide, it is no longer about feeding or getting fed, but about having the means to grow sufficient food that is nutritionally and culturally acceptable.
I personally advocate vegetable gardening in both urban and rural areas. Greenpeace Philippines calls it “ecological agriculture”. It supports biodiversity in farms and follows a holistic approach to easing malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies, especially among pregnant women and children. It has been providing Filipinos with diverse, safe and healthy sources of food.
During World Food Day, I pledged to support its initiatives to promote ecological agriculture, because it empowers us to plant, grow and harvest our own food that is clean, grown naturally and free from synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. I have been an active advocate of urban gardening that uses composts from household wastes as fertilizers.
Bukod sa nakakasira ang mga ito sa fertility o quality ng agricultural soil at iba pang harmful effects nito sa environment, alam naman natin na ang synthetic o inorganic pesticides at fertilizers ay mahal at nagpapaliit sa income ng mga farmers. Ako mismo ay mayroong organic fertilizer-making enterprise sa aking home city ng Las Piñas, both sa rotary composting at vermicomposting. We build composting centers in all of our city’s barangays to convert kitchen and garden wastes into organic fertilizers that we distribute to farmers and vegetable gardeners for free.
Ang composting ay in line with the National Organic Agriculture Program. It envisions the organic-agriculture sector contributing to the overall agricultural growth and development of the country in terms of sustainability, competitiveness and food security, where at least 5 percent of Philippine farms will be converted into organic ones by 2016.
Sa pamamagitan ng vegetable gardening, magkakaroon ng easy access sa masustansyang pagkain ang mga Pilipino at maiibsan lalo ang malnutrition. Batay sa 2008 food consumption survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, ang mga Pilipino ay pakaunti nang pakaunti ang kinakain na gulay sa loob ng isang araw nitong mga nakaraang tatlong dekada. Mula sa 145 grams ng gulay sa isang araw noong 1978, ang ating vegetable consumption ay bumaba sa 110 grams na lamang noong 2008.
Ang Department of Health mismo, pino-promote ang vegetable gardening sa mga Pilipino. Sa pamamagitan ng pagtatanim ng mga gulay sa ating mga bakuran, magkakaroon tayo ng sariling supply ng gulay at magkakaroon din ng pagkakataon na kumita mula sa mga ito.
There are numerous challenges that hinder the extension of policy support to small-scale producers, improve soil and water conditions to increase farm outputs, and achieve local food security and long-term ecosystem sustainability.
The identified sets of policy support that are recommended at the national level include:
- Agricultural policies that incentivize recycling of biomass within the agro-ecosystem.
- Agricultural investments and extension targeted specifically to help small-scale producers improve soil and water conditions through agro-ecological practices.
- Agricultural policies that incentivize in situ water conservation, soil enhancement, organic tillage regimes and microclimate management.
- Water policies that incentivize the reduction of gray/blue water footprint of agricultural and food systems, not only in crop selection and farming methods, but also in food processing and packaging.
- Trade, investment and intellectual-property rights policies that protect the rights of indigenous people and peasants to select, domesticate, breed, exchange and use native species of crops and livestock varieties.
- Environmental and food-safety policies based on the precautionary principle that avoids the reckless introduction of genetically modified organisms or other emerging technologies.
- Coordinated environmental and agricultural policies on biodiversity that ensure heterogeneity and diversity at the landscape and farm level.
- Agricultural, water and energy policies that prioritize the use of natural resources, such as land and water for food production, local energy security and local water security.
- Pro-democratization policies that recognize women’s central roles in agricultural and food systems, and revitalize rural economies and minority cultures, as well as marginalized livelihood practices.
The possibilities and benefits of agro-ecology are, indeed, wide-ranging and all-encompassing. Thus, we need to look even more closely on how to actively adopt or implement its concepts, approaches and processes in the country. Let us not be left behind from this promising agricultural approach.
To cite an agro-ecology report: “The vision of agro-ecology combines the sciences of ecology and agronomy with the political economy of food production and consumption. This approach goes beyond improving the availability of food to also ensuring access and the achievement of the right to food. Indeed, it should be the standard by which national agricultural strategies, food-security plans and foreign assistance programs are evaluated by their respective publics.”